'CONFIDENTIAL 86/7-I B.34. OIL TRUCIAL COAST'.

The volume contains correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Percy Gordon Loch), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Percy Gordon Loch), the India Office (Maurice Clausen, John Charles Walton) and Edward Henry Ommaney Elkington, General Manager of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (also referred to by their former name Anglo-Persian Oil Company) about options and concessions to explore for oil on the Trucial Coast. The volume discusses negotiations being undertaken by Hajji 'Abdullah Williamson on behalf of the D'Arcy Exploration Group (part of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) with Shaikh Sultan ibn Salim [Sulṭān bin Sālim Āl Qasimī], Ruler of Ras al Khaimah [Ra's al Khaymah], Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr [Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qasimī], Ruler of Sharjah and Shaikh Said bin Maktum [Saʻīd bin Maktūm Āl Maktūm], Ruler of Dibai [Dubai] which resulted in the group securing two year options to explore for oil in those territories. Also discussed is the possibility of pursuing options to explore for oil in Ajman and Umm al Qaiwaim [Umm al-Qaywayn], and negotiations for a two year option in Abu Dhabi which is unsuccessful. Other matters discussed in the volume include:. major Frank Holmes interest in exploring for oil on the Trucial coast, including his correspondence with the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi and his involvement in a new British oil exploration company which does not come to fruition; a trip taken by the Shaikh Shaqbut bin Sultan bin Said (Shakhbūt bin Sulṭān bin Zāyid Āl Nahyān), Ruler of Abu Dhabi to Basrah [Basra] and Baghdad to seek medical advice, and rumours that he may also be discussing oil exploration whilst there; discussions held in the India Office regarding the British Government's future policy with regards to the Persian Gulf and the development of oil there; along with measures to be taken to safeguard British interests in the Gulf and minimise the additional workload that oil concession negotiations might add to the Political Residency; the formation of Petroleum Concessions Limited, a part of the Iraq Petroleum Company to manage non Iraqi concessions and pursue new ones. The intention was for the new company to manage the Qatar concession and to follow through exploration and negotiations for those areas that the D'Arcy exploration group had obtained options for as well as to look at possible concessions in the Kuwait neutral zone, the unallotted area of Bahrain, and the remaining areas of the Trucial Coast; possible interest by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in exploring Kalbah [Kalbā] and the island of Tunb [Greater Tumb] for oil and minerals; Other correspondents in the volume include the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf (Captain Vernon Saumarez Butler); and the British Vice-Consul at Mohammerah (also given as Khoramshahr) (Frederick Charles Leslie Chauncy) who relays correspondence and information relating to Persia, Iraq and the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The correspondence from the various Trucial Coast Shaikhs is in Arabic, with translations in English, and the letter-head for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company is in Persian and English. A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 254-268.

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume. There is a table of contents on folio 4 which lists subjects discussed in the volume and the page references for them.

Unrestricted